Like Great Britain and Argentina, the Falkland Islands were not divided.
"Latent" conflict
The small archipelago of the Falkland Islands was discovered in the South Atlantic in the 16th century. Scientists are still wondering who was the first navigator to reach them: the Spaniard Esteban Gomez in 1520 or the Briton John Devich in 1592. For more than two centuries, there was a Spanish garrison on the Malvinas Islands (the Argentine name for the Falklands) and, therefore, the entire archipelago was part of composition of the Spanish Empire. When Argentina declared its independence in 1810, the Spanish military left the islands. Argentina itself remembered about the island only ten years later; an Argentine landing force landed there, led by Captain Juet, who proclaimed the sovereignty of the Argentine Republic over the archipelago. The triumph did not last long. Twelve years later, the archipelago was captured by an English naval expedition, establishing its de facto subordination to the British crown. The young republic turned out to be unable to resist the aggressive policies of Great Britain, but it also did not intend to give up its legal rights to own the Malvinas Islands. The so-called “latent conflict” arose, and for some time the warring parties fell silent.
Oil, krill and parliamentary elections
In the 1960s, during the collapse of the colonial system, Argentina tried to return the Falkland Islands through diplomatic means. The country strengthened its influence on the islands in every possible way, built an airfield there, and established telephone communications. She even managed to gain the support of the majority of UN members, but England remained adamant. The Albion government refused to grant the island's Argentines equal rights with British citizens; London had its own interests in the deserted islands. They were especially interested in large deposits of oil and gas discovered in the coastal waters and coastal shelf of the islands. Another stumbling block was the crustacean krill, the monopoly right to catch which actually belonged to the British alone.
Some researchers see the Falklands War as one of the intrigues of Margaret Thatcher, for whom it became a small “victorious war.” On the eve of hostilities, and at the same time on the eve of new parliamentary elections, things were not going well for the “Iron Lady”. Thatcher's economic policies were not supported by everyone even within her party: 9 out of 22 ministers of her cabinet were against her economic initiatives. By December 1980, Thatcher's level of political trust had fallen to 23% (the lowest result among British prime ministers). But she refused to deviate from the planned course of economic reforms. “Turn if you want. The lady doesn't turn!" - she said at a party conference that same year. To restore the authority of the Conservative Party in Great Britain, Thatcher needed a small, victorious war. In addition, the victory was fully consistent with Thatcher’s foreign policy doctrine, which envisaged the return of Great Britain to the status of a great power.
Leopoldo's Victorious War
It was not only Thatcher who needed a victorious conflict. In 1881, as a result of a military coup in Argentina, Leopoldo Galtieri came to power. To achieve popularity among the Argentine population, he needed a small, quick, victorious war. What better way to win back control of the Falkland Islands? Initially, the operation, which received the name “Rosario” in memory of Captain Juet’s ship, was planned for May 25, 1982, the day of the Argentine national holiday. But British intelligence soon learned about the impending invasion and sent its submarine Spartan to the South Atlantic. Galtieri decided to act quickly and already on April 2, 1982, Argentine troops landed on the islands, quickly forcing the small English garrison to surrender. For England, this was a war not only for their own, as they believed, national interests. The war served as another test of the Western Bloc in the Cold War. Cuba and many other Latin American countries supported Argentina's actions in its “just” military operation to return the territories once “occupied by British imperialism.” An ambiguous position was taken by the leadership of France, which shortly before the conflict supplied its Mirage combat aircraft to Argentina and sold French Exocet anti-ship missiles to Argentina's ally Peru.
Protection of British citizens
“If the islands were captured, then I knew exactly what needed to be done - they needed to be returned. After all, our people are there on the islands. Their loyalty and devotion to Queen and country was never in doubt. And as often happens in politics, the question was not what to do, but how it could be done,” Margaret Thatcher later recalled.
The UN Security Council called on the warring parties to resolve the conflict through negotiations. But neither side was going to retreat. The British government announced that it would sink all Argentine ships that were within a radius of 200 miles or closer to the Falkland Islands (the distance from the islands to the Argentine mainland coast is only 287 miles). On April 5, an English squadron of 40 ships led by the aircraft carriers Hermes and Invisible set off from the American Portsmouth towards the Falkland Islands. Next, a British landing force landed on the Argentine island of South Georgia (south of the Falklands), quickly subjugating its territory. And already at the end of April, British aircraft from aircraft carriers began to strike Argentine positions on the islands.
"Maggie will come"
On the day when Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde Terry received preliminary consent from Argentina to the terms of a peace agreement with Great Britain, the first powerful blow was struck by the British navy. On the same day, the British nuclear submarine Conkerror attacked the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano at a distance of 236 miles (which contradicted the earlier official warning). Almost 400 crew members died in the waters of the South Atlantic. Naturally, Argentina rejected any possibility of a peaceful solution to the conflict and open war began. Thatcher, like a true “Iron Lady,” was persistent in her political decisions. On her orders, British troops bombed the airstrips on the island and captured the Falkland Islands.
“And when, at last, on the night of May 21st, the Royal Navy landed troops ashore at Carlos Bay, the island farmer expressed in one sentence the characteristic feature of our nation. When asked by the parachute officer if he was surprised to see the task force at anchorage in the bay, the farmer replied: “Not at all. We knew Maggie would come,” Margaret Thatcher later recalled proudly and patriotically. She had something to be proud of; the Conservative Party again won a majority in the 1983 parliamentary elections.
Positions of the USSR and the USA
According to British intelligence, the USSR “was ready to provide Argentina with warships, aircraft and missiles (SS type) in exchange for supplies of grain and beef at preferential prices.” But the USSR had its own unresolved problem - the war in Afghanistan. For this reason, all the pressure that the Soviet leadership exerted on the Anglo-Saxon powers occurred only within the framework of UN meetings. There were no active actions to prevent a military conflict or as part of assistance to Argentina from the Soviet Union.
On the contrary, the USSR renounced any participation in the Anglo-Argentine conflict, declaring to Curtis Keeble, the British Ambassador to the USSR, summoned to the Soviet Foreign Ministry on May 14, 1982, that “the British side, apparently, in terms of diplomatic cover for its military actions in the South Atlantic, several times addressed the Soviet side with so-called “warnings,” which are completely inappropriate and aimed at creating a fiction about some kind of “involvement” of the Soviet Union in the Anglo-Argentine conflict.”
The states did not stand aside. The UK's main ally was US Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, who persuaded Reagan and the Pentagon to provide "greater support to America's most loyal ally." The minister ordered his subordinates to “provide Britain with all possible assistance in matters of technical support and intelligence.”
April 30 Reagan announces support for Great Britain and the imposition of sanctions against Argentina. The US administration used various levers of influence on Argentina and its Latin American neighbors. They forced Argentina to reduce its supplies of beef and grain to the USSR. The remaining South American countries declared their neutrality. The attempt to pass a resolution on the Falkland issue by the UN Security Council was vetoed by the United States and Great Britain.
A special Anglo-American plan was developed against the possible inclusion of the USSR in the conflict. According to it, the USA and Great Britain had to put pressure on the USSR in several directions at once. With the support of the United States and France, Israel began a military operation in Lebanon, supported by the USSR. Pro-American South Koreans began provocative actions against the DPRK. The United States, through Israel, began to provide material assistance to Romania, which actively opposed Soviet policy in Afghanistan, thereby shaking the organization of the Warsaw Pact countries “from within.” In addition, Great Britain and the United States managed to disrupt the conclusion of a number of contracts in April-May 1982 on the Gas-Pipes project, which planned to connect Western Europe and the USSR with mutually beneficial conditions for gas cooperation.
Under US pressure, an agreement was reached on June 14 to cease hostilities, and the next day Argentine General Mendoza announced his surrender.
60 billion barrels
The latent conflict continues today. An official agreement between England and Argentina has not yet been concluded. Diplomatic relations between the states were restored only in 1990.
In recent years, the disputed islands have again become the focus of the world community. According to British experts, there are oil reserves of 60 billion barrels on the shelf of the islands. If these figures are true, they are comparable to the reserves of the most oil-rich countries. For comparison, according to estimates for 2012, proven oil reserves in Russia amount to the same 60 billion barrels.
In March 2013, with the full support of the British government, a referendum was held on the islands. The local population had to decide: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain its political status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom? Yes or no". Of the 1,517 citizens who voted, 99.8% answered in the affirmative, advocating for maintaining the current political status of the city. Argentina did not recognize the results of the referendum, maintaining its territorial claims to this archipelago. The problem of belonging to the Falkland Islands remains open to this day. And it is unlikely that one of the warring parties will agree to release such a tasty “piece of oil.”
The Falklands War was a confrontation between England and Argentina for control of the Falkland Islands. Interestingly, neither Argentina nor Great Britain formally declared war on each other; from the point of view of both sides, military action represented the restoration of control over their legitimate territory.
On the night of May 21, 1982, British ground troops landed in San Carlos Bay, where the Argentines least expected an enemy landing attack. Almost a month later, the war ended. Great Britain won, and controls the islands to this day.
We present to you a short photo chronicle of this confrontation.
Tens of thousands of Argentines gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires to show their support for President Leopoldo Galtieri, April 10, 1982
On March 19, 1982, several dozen Argentine workers landed on the uninhabited island of South Georgia, governed from the Falklands capital Port Stanley, under the pretext that they needed to dismantle an old whaling station. They raised the Argentine flag on the island. English soldiers tried to expel the Argentines, but troops came to the aid of the workers.
Aftermath of the Battle of Goose Green, Falkland Islands
On April 2, 1982, an Argentine landing force landed on the islands and, after a short battle, forced the small garrison of British marines located there to capitulate. After this, a large British naval force was immediately sent to the South Atlantic with the aim of returning the islands.
Argentine soldiers make military supplies shortly after the invasion of the Falkland Islands, April 13, 1982
On April 7, 1982, the British Secretary of Defense announced the establishment of a blockade of the Falkland Islands from April 12, 1982 and the establishment of a 200-mile zone around the islands, within which ships of the Argentine Navy and merchant fleet would be sunk. In response, the Argentine government imposed a ban on making payments to English banks, and in response to Western economic sanctions, Buenos Aires banned flights to the country by Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and several others.
The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sinks after being hit by a torpedo from the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror, May 1, 1982. Argentine and Chilean ships managed to rescue 770 people, while 323 were killed
Helicopter delivering ammunition to the British Army
On April 25, British forces landed on the island of South Georgia. The Argentine garrison capitulated without offering any resistance.
British frigate HMS Antelope after being hit by an Argentine missile
Argentine soldiers take positions near the San Carlos Strait in May 1982
The Argentine-British conflict lasted 74 days. The decisive battle took place on May 2, 1982, when a British nuclear submarine sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. 323 people died. After this, the Argentine navy capitulated.
The Argentine army general, who was considered governor at Stanley during the 73 days of the war, addresses his troops in Darwin, May 25, 1982
Gunsmiths prepare torpedoes on the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, while Sea King helicopters monitor the possible appearance of Argentine submarines, May 26, 1982
Thick smoke rises from the British frigate HMS Antelope in Ajax Bay, May 24, 1982. Four Argentine A-4B Skyhawks attacked a British frigate the day before. During the attack, a bomb was dropped on the ship, which British technicians tried unsuccessfully to defuse. It exploded, causing a fire and killing 2 crew members.
Argentine military patrols the Falkland Islands, the city of Port Stanley
Hundreds of Argentines gather outside a store in Buenos Aires to hear the latest military news, May 21, 1982.
On June 14, 1982, Argentina surrendered (the war officially ended on June 20). The conflict killed 258 Britons (including three islanders) and 649 Argentines.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
The Falklands War led to a surge in Margaret Thatcher's popularity and her re-election as Prime Minister in 1983.
Argentine prisoners of war in Port Stanley, 17 June 1982. By the end of the conflict, more than 11 thousand Argentines were captured
British flag near Ajax Bay
In March 2013, Falkland Islanders took part in a referendum on the archipelago's political identity. 99.8% of voters were in favor of maintaining the Falklands status as a British overseas territory
The Falklands War of 1982 arose from a conflict between Britain and Argentina over ownership of a group of remote islands in the South Atlantic. The Argentines call them Malvinas, and the British call them Falklands. These islands were discovered by the British at the end of the 16th century. They were briefly occupied by the French in the mid-18th century and then sold to Spain. The Falkland Islands remained uninhabited until 1820, when the first Argentine settlers arrived and were expelled by the British in 1833. Argentina never forgave Great Britain for this.
The increasingly repressive regime of the military junta in Argentina in the early 1980s led to its growing unpopularity. The head of the junta, General Leopoldo Galtieri, decided to divert the attention of the country's public with an operation to return the Falkland Islands, on which insignificant forces of the Royal Marines were stationed. The islands were separated from Great Britain by 6,000 miles, and General Galtieri hoped that such a long distance would not allow the British to take any decisive military countermeasures.
On April 2, 1982, five hundred Argentine Marines and Special Forces launched the war by landing on the Falkland Islands and quickly forcing the surrender of eighty British Marines. Two days later, the Argentines also captured South Georgia (on the map - South Georgia) nine hundred miles to the east. However, already on April 5, a hastily created special forces group set off from the shores of England with the goal of returning the Falklands. Three weeks later the British recaptured South Georgia.
Obsolete Vulcan bombers flew from Great Britain to the Ascension Islands, where they took advantage of American bases, and from there bombed the only equipped airfield in the Falklands at Port Stanley, and the success of this military operation depended almost entirely on the effective organization of refueling bombers in the air .
On May 2, 1982, the British nuclear submarine Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. After this, the threat of the Argentine surface fleet was eliminated as all other ships returned to their bases. As British Special Forces surrounded the Falkland Islands, the main thrust of the war shifted into the air. English Harrier aircraft began to prevail over the American-made Skyhawks, French Super-Etandars and Franco-Israeli Daggers that were in service with Argentina. In the air battles of the Falklands War, the Harriers first fully demonstrated their phenomenal maneuverability, especially their ability to hover in the air.
The battle, in which Argentinean aircraft and British warships took part, turned out to be decisive. On May 4, the English destroyer Sheffield was sunk by an Exocet anti-ship missile fired from the Argentine Super Etandar. The fighting escalated after the English naval landing on May 21 gained a foothold on the coast of San Carlos Bay.
Over the next three days, Argentine fighters sank three British warships and the transport Atlantic Conveyor, which, among other valuable cargo, transported almost all (with the exception of one) of the heavy-duty Chinook helicopters of the special forces. The Argentines would be even more successful if their bombs were equipped with reliable fuses,
During these battles, the Argentines lost a significant number of their aircraft, shot down by both Harriers and Rapier anti-aircraft missile systems.
On May 28, 1982, the first serious battle of the Falklands War took place on land, when, after a bloody battle, British paratroopers captured the settlement of Goose Green. From here they began the march to Port Stanley, the final goal of their operation. This offensive had to be carried out on foot through difficult terrain, since the British had lost their entire fleet of heavy-duty transport helicopters.
But even before the decisive battles for Port Stanley began, the British were destined to suffer another heavy military loss: Argentine bombers raided the large landing ships Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram at Bluff Bay, causing serious damage to both.
On the night of 11–12 June 1982, the Falklands Campaign entered its final stage when the British launched an attack on the rugged Longdon mountain range. Two days later they launched an attack on the Wireless Range and Mount Tumbledown. These battles involved infantry armed with rifles, bayonets, grenades and light machine guns. This operation was strikingly different from the “computer-mechanized” war for which the British Army was preparing for exercises in Europe.
British paratroopers and Argentine prisoners. Port Stanley, June 1982
The next day the Argentines surrendered and British troops entered Port Stanley. Failure in the Falklands War led to the fall of Galtieri and his junta, while the victory of Great Britain caused a stormy surge of national pride among the British and contributed to the growth of the international authority and prestige of the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
A real war, from the point of view of order and organization, is remarkably similar to a brothel engulfed in fire. The Falklands conflict was no exception - the chain of sea and land battles in the South Atlantic that raged in May-June 1982 became a good example of what modern warfare looks like in practice.
A crazy conflict on the edge of the Earth, in which not very wealthy Argentina butted heads with impoverished Great Britain. The first urgently needed a “small victorious war” and she found nothing better than to unleash a 150-year-old territorial dispute. The British accepted the challenge and went to defend the honor of the British Empire 12,000 miles from their native shores. The whole world watched in amazement “an argument between two bald men over a comb.”
As often happens, the “small victorious war” turned into a brutal defeat. Argentina turned out to be completely unprepared to conduct any serious military operations. There are only six AM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles, two tanker aircraft and two more or less serviceable SP-2H Neptune early warning aircraft. The fleet is stupid “stubs” of the fleets of the leading powers:
The formidable cruiser General Belgrano is the old American cruiser Phoenix, which miraculously escaped destruction in Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. You can’t escape fate - 40 years later, the Phoenix-Belgrano was nevertheless sunk in the Atlantic.
Super-carrier Bentisisco de Mayo - former Dutch Karel Dorman, originally the British aircraft carrier HMS Venerable, launched in 1943;
The destroyers Ippolito Bouchard and Luis Piedrabuena are former American destroyers of the Allen M. Sumner class, also from World War II.
Isn’t it true, dubious forces for attacking a country that, from 1588 to the early 40s of the twentieth century, had no equal in the sea?
The Queen's Fleet Goes South
The “Great Victory” of the British Navy cannot be called anything other than an accident: a third of the ships of Her Majesty’s squadron were hit by Argentine bombs! Fortunately for the British, the Argentine pilots used rusty American ammunition - after lying in a warehouse for thirty years, for some reason they refused to explode.
Explosion of the ammunition magazines of the frigate "Entilope"
The small frigate Plymouth received 4 “gifts” from the sky, but none of the bombs worked properly.
The destroyer "Glasgow" - a direct hit from a 1000-pound aerial bomb. Having broken through several decks, the dangerous object rolled into the engine room, but... there was no explosion.
Frigate "Antrim" - direct hit 1000-lb. air bombs. The Argentine pilots were again let down by the fuse.
Frigate "Broadsword" - unsuccessfully dropped 500-lb. the bomb ricocheted off the crest of a wave and tore the side of the frigate. It swept like a black shadow through the interior of the ship, destroying flimsy bulkheads and mechanisms in its path, flew onto the flight deck, crushed the helicopter, and... waving goodbye to the stubs of the stabilizers, fell into the water.
Frigate "Argonaut" - heavy damage from two unexploded bombs. The ship lost its combat capability.
The sinking of the frigate "Entilope"
The British landing was hanging by a thread:
The landing ship "Sir Lancelot" - on the approach to the Falkland Islands received a direct hit of 1000 lb. air bomb. Fortunately for the British, there was no detonation - otherwise the ship, loaded to the brim with Marines and equipment, would have turned into a hellish brazier.
The landing ship, "Sir Galahad", could also have died on the way - in the open ocean, "Sir Galahad" received a terrible blow of 1000 lbs. bomb, which, once again, spared the British
However, the ship could not escape its fate: Argentine Air Force attack aircraft burned the Sir Galahad during the landing at Bluff Cove. By that time, most of the Marines had landed ashore, however, 40 people burned along with the ship.
The third landing ship, Sir Tristram, came under heavy attack from Argentine aircraft during the Marine landings at Bluff Cove, leaving a 500-lb. bomb. British sailors and marines rushed in horror into the icy water - away from the dangerous “attraction”. The “humane” bomb waited until the last sailor left the ship and was immediately detonated. “Sir Tristram” burned for several hours - it’s scary to imagine if at that moment there were hundreds of marines on board.
"Sir Tristram" returns from the war
By the way, during the raid on Bluff Cove, the Argentines, in addition to two landing ships, managed to seriously damage one of the 200-ton lighters with a British landing force (later sank).
In total, according to statistics, 80% of the Argentine bombs and missiles that hit Her Majesty's ships did not work properly! It’s easy to imagine what would happen if they all exploded - Glasgow, Plymouth, Argonaut, landing ships - they would all inevitably die. Having lost a third of the squadron, Great Britain lost the opportunity to conduct combat operations on the other side of the Earth and lost the Falklands War. Truly, the British were one step away from disaster!
But 20% of the detonated ammunition was more than enough to destroy six ships of the British squadron!
- the destroyer Sheffield was burned by an unexploded Exocet anti-ship missile;
- the destroyer "Coventry" - died under the bombs of Argentine attack aircraft;
- frigate "Ardent" - numerous hits from aerial bombs, explosion of ammunition magazines;
- frigate "Antelope" - two unexploded bombs, detonation during an attempt to clear mines;
- Atlantic Conveyor air transport - simultaneous hit by two Exocet anti-ship missiles;
- the previously mentioned landing ship "Sir Galahad" - the damage was so severe that the British had to scuttle the ship in the Atlantic.
Argentine Air Force, path to victory
It is simply amazing how the Argentine Air Force was able to cause such damage with its limited forces. At that time, the Argentines had only six (!) air-launched anti-ship missiles and the same number of their carriers - the latest French-made Super-Etandar fighter-bombers. Moreover, the last sixth “Super-Etandar”, which managed to arrive in Argentina before the start of the war, could not take off for a completely banal reason - the absence of part of the avionics.
10 obsolete Canberra bombers, purchased from Great Britain in the early 70s, sporadically took part in the fighting - the Argentines only achieved the loss of 2 vehicles, without any success.
A-4 Skyhawks are attacking!
The effective use of the Argentine Daggers and Mirages turned out to be impossible - the runway on the Falkland Islands was too short for modern supersonic aircraft, and the Argentine Air Force had to operate from airfields on the continent. Due to the lack of an in-flight refueling system on the Daggers and Mirages, they could reach the combat zone with only a minimal bomb load. Combat sorties at the limit of their range did not promise anything good, and the active use of modern fighter-bombers had to be abandoned.
Note. "Dagger", aka "Nesher" - an unlicensed Israeli copy of the French fighter-bomber "Mirage 5". Israeli vehicles that had served their purpose, having undergone modernization, were sold to Argentina. This is the kind of “junk” that the Argentine muchachos had to fly on!
The key striking force of Argentine aviation was the subsonic A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft: already initially adapted for long-range combat missions, the old machines turned into formidable ones - the vast majority of the losses of the British fleet are attributed to them! Argentine pilots had to operate hundreds of miles from the coast, breaking through rain and snow charges at extremely low altitudes, avoiding enemy combat air patrols. There are a ton of bombs on the external sling. Ahead is an endless ocean, in the vastness of which the British squadron is hiding. Find and destroy! And on the way back, be sure to meet an air tanker, otherwise the plane will fall into the cold waters of the Atlantic with empty tanks.
Subsonic attack aircraft Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Hero of the Falklands War
Only the stupidity and carelessness of the British command allowed the Skyhawks to so brazenly attack ships and feel like “kings of the air.” The British went to war, saving even on self-defense anti-aircraft artillery systems (such as Phalanx, AK-630 or Goalkeeper). The destroyers and frigates had nothing but imperfect air defense systems, unable to deal with low-flying targets. In the close range, British sailors had to rely, at best, on a pair of manually aimed Oerlikon cannons, and at worst, fire at low-flying aircraft with rifles and pistols.
The result was predictable - a third of Her Majesty's ships came under missile and bomb attacks and were severely damaged.
In terms of order and organization, the Falklands War really was a hell of a mess. An explosive mixture of mistakes, cowardice, negligence, original solutions and unsatisfactory characteristics of military equipment. Taking a closer look at the episodes of the Falklands conflict, you get the feeling that the fighting was filmed on Hollywood soundstages. The actions of the British and Argentines sometimes look so naive and paradoxical that it is impossible to believe that this could happen in life.
A striking example is the triumphant sinking of the newest destroyer Sheffield.
“The newest destroyer Sheffield was in fact a small “pelvis” with a displacement of about 4,000 tons - now such ships are usually called frigates. The combat capabilities of the “newest destroyer” were identical to its size: the Sea Dart naval air defense system with an ammunition load of 22 missiles, a universal 114 mm caliber gun, an anti-submarine helicopter... that, perhaps, was all that the Sheffield team could count on.
However, even the newest American super-destroyer Zamvolt would not have saved the British sailors. On the fateful morning, while in the combat zone, the Sheffield commander ordered to turn off all radars and electronic devices of the ship - so as not to interfere with his conversations on the Skynet satellite communication channel.
The flying missile was visually noticed from the bridge only a second before it hit the destroyer. The Exocet struck the side, flew through the galley and broke up in the engine room. The warhead of the Argentine missile, as expected, did not explode, but the destroyer had enough of the torch from the running rocket engine - the aluminum hull structures flared up, the synthetic finishing of the premises blazed with unbearable heat, and the cable sheaths crackled. The tragicomedy ended sadly: the Sheffield completely burned out and sank a week later while being towed. 20 people from his crew died.
The victory was not easy for the Argentines: the SP-2H Neptune AWACS aircraft, due to the failure of the on-board equipment, was only able to establish radar contact with the ships of the British formation on the fifth try - which is not surprising, it was an aircraft from the mid-40s.
By the way, on the 15th day of the war, both Argentine “Neptunes” were completely out of commission, and subsequently naval reconnaissance was carried out in even more sophisticated ways: with the help of a Boeing 707 airliner, a KC-130 air tanker and a Liarjet 35A business class aircraft.
The sinking of the destroyer Coventry looks no less wonderful.
Argentine Skyhawks caught up with him 15 miles from Pebble Island - suddenly appearing from behind the rocky cliffs of the island, four attack aircraft unleashed a barrage of free-falling bombs on the destroyer and the accompanying frigate Broadsword.
The British formation was covered by deck-based SeaHarriers, but at the time of the attack the fighters were withdrawn due to the threat of being hit by anti-aircraft fire on the ships. However, it was not possible to cope on our own - the destroyer’s air defense system did not work. "Coventry" tried to drive away the enemy planes with the fire of a universal gun, but to no avail - the planes were already on a combat course. As luck would have it, the Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun jammed - as a result, the destroyer crew fired back at low-flying aircraft using rifles and pistols.
The frigate got off relatively lightly - one of the bombs pierced it right through from the bottom up (this case was discussed a little higher) and did not explode. The destroyer Coventry was less fortunate - of the three that hit it, the 500-lb. aerial bombs, two exploded - 20 minutes after the attack the ship capsized and sank.
The Argentines also had a lot of problems that time - out of the six aircraft of the strike group, only four reached the target. Another decrepit Skyhawk was unable to carry out its bombing mission due to a failure of the bomb release mechanism.
The events of the Falklands War were marked by a whole range of amazing decisions and military ingenuity.
Having used up their stock of air-based anti-ship Exocets, the Argentines turned to improvisation. From the old destroyer Segui, local craftsmen removed and reprogrammed two ship-based Exocets - both missiles were delivered by transport plane to the Falkland Islands, where they were secretly deployed on the coast in anticipation of British ships. The target designation was provided by the army mobile radar RASIT.
On June 12, 1982, the destroyer Glamorgan came under fire from the shore - the first missile missed, the second struck the upper deck in the area of the helipad and exploded, creating a 5-meter hole. The fragments and products of the explosion penetrated into the helicopter hangar, where the fully fueled helicopter was located at that time. The fire raged for four hours, and 14 sailors died fighting the fire. The next day, with the help of the floating workshops, the destroyer managed to regain its limited combat capability.
As in any war, there is a bit of black humor here.
Trying to stop the advance of Her Majesty's fleet, the Argentines began to use anything that could fly and bomb as bombers, including the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft (an analogue of the domestic An-12). On May 29, 1982, the Hercules discovered the lonely naval tanker British Way - 500-lb. immediately flew down. bombs rolled by hand from a folded cargo ramp. Despite the absence of any aiming devices, more than half of the ammunition hit the target and, naturally, did not explode.
The bold raids of the C-130 “bomber” ended sadly - two days later the Argentine Hercules was discovered and attacked by a carrier-based SeaHarrier. However, shooting down a military transport aircraft turned out to be not an easy task - the huge Hercules ignored the hit of the AIM-9 Saudwinder missile, continuing to pull towards the shore on its three remaining engines. The pilot of the SeaHarrier, Lieutenant Ward, had to fire the entire ammunition load of the guns - which is 260 shells - in order to destroy the Argentine "sea corsair".
The tragicomedy in the South Atlantic lasted 74 days and cost, according to official data, 907 human lives. It is worth recognizing that both warring sides sought to minimize human losses - at the slightest threat, the units preferred not to tempt fate and surrendered. Fortunately, the fighting took place over the ocean and over deserted, practically uninhabited islands, which made it possible to exclude civilian casualties - the military solved their problems in a fair fight.
The traditions of the Wehrmacht played a certain role in the undoubted military successes of Argentina - after the end of World War II, South America became a refuge for many German military specialists. And we must admit that it was not in vain that they ate their bread in the new place - the training of Argentine officers turned out to be much better than anyone expected.
Alas, despite all efforts, Argentina lost the Falklands War to smithereens - when 80% of the bombs that hit the target do not explode, one cannot dream of victory. The British fleet turned out to be no simple adversary - with the help of nuclear submarines, the British drove the Argentine fleet into its bases in a matter of days. The Falkland Islands garrison was isolated and victory was only a matter of time. The British took dear revenge for the death of their warships - 74 Argentine Air Force aircraft did not return to the airfields. It is noteworthy that the SeaHarrier carrier-based fighters accounted for only 28% of the destroyed Argentine aircraft, the rest of the aircraft were chalked up by air defense systems and anti-aircraft artillery of Her Majesty’s ships.
The Falkland Islands (Malvinas) include 2 large and about 200 small islands located in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean; they are located 13 thousand km from England and 400 km from Argentina.
The history of conflict around these islands goes back at least 150 years. In 1820, after declaring independence from the Spanish crown, Argentina (formerly the United Provinces of La Plata) declared its rights to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and in 1829 established its own military administration on them. In 1833, Great Britain sent a landing party to the islands and expelled the Argentines along with their military governor; the archipelago was declared an English colony.
Since the 60s of the 20th century, Argentina has increased its diplomatic activity for the elimination of the colonial regime in the Falklands and the extension of its sovereignty to the islands. This problem was even discussed at a UN meeting, and the majority spoke in favor of decolonization.
Resolution No. 2065 of January 4, 1965 recommended a negotiated settlement of the dispute in accordance with the UN Charter and Resolution No. 1514 of December 14, 1960 on the elimination of colonialism, and then repeated these proposals. On July 1, 1971, England and Argentina signed a number of agreements facilitating trade and transport communications, and scientific cooperation began.
In 1972, Argentina built an airfield and established telephone communications. Scientific cooperation began in 1976. But the English government did not give the Falklanders equal rights with the residents of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and even denied them the right to own property on the islands. Relations deteriorated noticeably when in 1975 the British government sent a commission to the Falklands headed by Lord Shelkton to study the economic opportunities of the archipelago - harsh notes were exchanged, and the ambassadors of both countries were recalled until 1979. After the Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher, came to power in May 1979, Anglo-Argentine relations deteriorated further, and negotiations in New York in April-May 1980 stalled. A diplomatic solution to the territorial dispute seemed impossible to the Argentine military government, and it moved to decisive action.
March 19, 1982 on the island. Several dozen Argentines, workers of a scrap iron processing company, landed in South Georgia; they intended to dismantle the old whaling station. Under the 1971 agreement, they received entry permission from the British embassy in Buenos Aires, but the island's authorities said the 1971 agreement did not apply to South Georgia. However, the Argentines who landed raised their national flag on the island. British troops stationed in the archipelago attempted to expel the Argentine workers, but Argentine Foreign Minister N. Costa Mendes stated that “Argentines are working on Argentine territory and will continue to work under the protection of the Argentine government.” (Mityaeva E.V. Anglo-Argentine conflict over the Falkland Islands. M., 1993. P. 14.) On April 2, 1982, Argentine troops under the command of General M. Menendos, carrying out Operation Sovereignty, landed on the Falklands, which was defended by one company of British Royal Marines (about 80 people), stationed in Port Stanley and ceasing resistance by order of the English governor R. Hunt. There were no casualties (including even wounded). The new governor, now in the Malvinas (Falklands), was General M. B. Menendos; On April 7, a very solemn ceremony took place to inaugurate him. Argentina's invasion of the Falklands was dictated by internal reasons. The military junta led by General Leopolde Galtieri found itself on the eve of an economic collapse: industrial production ceased, foreign debt was many times higher than the budget, foreign borrowing ceased, inflation was 300% per year. The dictator hoped to raise the prestige of his military regime with the help of a small victorious war, but he miscalculated.
On the day Argentine troops landed in the Falklands (April 2, 1982), London broke off diplomatic relations with Buenos Aires, froze Argentine holdings in British banks, and banned the sale of military equipment and weapons to Argentina. 17 thousand English subjects were asked to leave Argentina. As a matter of urgency, on April 5, a military squadron departed from Portsmouth, initially consisting of 40 large ships led by the aircraft carriers Hermes and Invisble, carrying about 10 thousand people. Britain then repeatedly sent additional military and transport vessels to the South Atlantic throughout the conflict. Thus, it became clear that the Conservative government of Great Britain relied on military force.
The British fleet was heading to Ascension Island, located halfway to the Falklands. There was a US naval base on it, which was placed at the disposal of British troops by Washington and became a springboard for operations against Argentine forces. At the same time, the British government stated that sending a fleet would only be a means of pressure during a diplomatic resolution of the dispute. But on April 7, British Defense Secretary Joe Nogg announced in the House of Commons that, starting from April 12, the British fleet would sink any Argentine ship that came within 200 miles of the Falkland Islands. (Mityaeva E.V. Decree, op. p. 16.) This could be regarded as an actual declaration of war on Argentina.
In response, the Argentine government imposed a ban on payments to British banks. After the news of the departure of the British fleet in Argentina, calls for reservists began. Additional troops were deployed to the Falklands, and the airport at Port Stanley (Puerto Argentino) was adapted to handle military aircraft. At the same time, Argentina's reluctance to start active hostilities was obvious; its large warships did not enter the 200-mile zone, avoiding collisions with British submarines.
On April 3, 1982, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 502, calling on the conflicting parties to resolve the dispute through negotiations; at the same time, the majority of members of the Security Council spoke in favor of the withdrawal of Argentine troops from the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. The USSR and three other countries abstained from voting, since the demand for the withdrawal of Argentine troops was tantamount to the return of the islands to England. Panama voted against the resolution. Buenos Aires expressed its readiness to begin negotiations, but refused to withdraw its troops.
In the second half of April, people in England began to talk about the inevitability of the use of force. On April 25, troops were landed from warships, and British troops occupied the island. South Georgia, located 800 miles east of the Falklands and outside the range of Argentine aviation. After an artillery bombardment, the English landing force occupied the settlements of Grytviken and Leith.
On April 26, UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar called on Britain to stop hostilities, but his appeal was sharply rejected by the Prime Minister of England. Britain continued to escalate the conflict. On April 30 at 1100 GMT, a complete naval and air blockade of the islands was announced. From that time on, British troops considered any ships and aircraft, including civilian ones, that found themselves in the 200-mile zone as hostile. The airport in Port Stanley was declared closed. British aircraft attacked the defensive positions of Argentine troops in the Falklands (Malvinas), as a result of which both airfields there were damaged and significant damage was caused to Argentine fighters and helicopters. On May 2, a British submarine torpedoed the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, 36 miles from the 200-mile zone declared by the British themselves. 368 crew members were killed. This unjustified measure caused outrage among public opinion around the world. In response, Argentine troops intensified their actions: the largest English destroyer Sheffield was sunk, killing 30 people. But this did not stop England, which sent the destroyer Exter and 4 frigates, as well as the passenger liner Quinn Elizabeth II, which delivered another 3 thousand soldiers, to the Falklands. Then ten more warships and the transport ship Canberra with 2.5 thousand soldiers on board were sent to the combat area. At the final stage of the operation, about 100 British ships and 20 thousand troops were gathered at Falkland. (Mityaeva E.V. Op. op. S.23.)
The British government presented Argentina with an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of troops from the islands within 48 hours, narrowed the zone of military operations to 12 miles and took decisive action. On May 2, an English frigate sank an Argentine tanker, and a few days later Port Stanley and Port Darwin were fired upon from ships and bombed from the air. In addition, British Harrier fighter-bombers sank the Argentine fishing vessel Narwhal. This senseless cruelty also sparked outrage around the world. In mid-May, the British carried out a raid on the island of Pebble and destroyed Argentine aircraft and weapons depots located there. Port Stanley and the airstrips located there were increasingly being shelled. Airborne sabotage groups landed on the Falklands and even on the territory of Argentina itself. British government documents dated May 17 and 21 formulated the British side's demands: withdrawal of Argentine troops within 14 days; restoration of the previously existing administration in “consultation” with the UN administrator; conducting negotiations without determining their results. The documents emphasized Britain's rights to sovereignty over the Falklands; Argentina was called the aggressor; it was stated that the islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands remained English possessions. Thus, conditions were put forward that deprived Argentina of any hopes of restoring historical rights to the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands.
On May 21, the assault on the Falkland Islands by British troops began. Landing troops landed simultaneously at various points on the islands. 22 thousand British soldiers took part in the operation, the invasion group included: 2 aircraft carriers, 7 destroyers, 7 landing ships, 3 nuclear submarines, about 40 Harrier fighter-bombers and 35 helicopters for various purposes. Having created a bridgehead, British troops began to prepare for an attack on Port Stanley. After fierce two-day fighting, British troops captured the island. East Falkland (Soledad) settlements of Port Darwin and Goose Green.
On May 26, the Argentine government outlined its wishes for resolving the conflict: discussing during negotiations the fate of not only the Falklands, but also the dependent territories; withdrawal of troops of both sides within 30 days to their bases; UN transitional administration and the lifting of restrictions that prevented Argentines from settling on the islands.
On May 30, Argentine aviation seriously damaged one of the most powerful ships of the British Navy - the aircraft carrier Invincible with a displacement of 20 thousand tons, having 900 crew members and the latest missile weapons. On June 4, a draft resolution was put forward at the UN Security Council calling on both sides to immediately cease fire, but the UK and US vetoed it. On June 12, a massive offensive by British marines and paratroopers began on Port Stanley. The powerful bombing led to casualties among the local population.
After the encirclement of Port Stanley by British troops on June 14, 1982, an agreement was reached to cease hostilities, and on June 15, the English General Moore accepted a declaration of surrender from the Argentine General Menendos, but no official agreement was concluded between England and Argentina. The British captured 10 thousand Argentine soldiers and officers, and the losses killed on the Argentine side amounted to 700 people; The British lost about 250 people killed. (Harbottle T. Battles of World History. M., 1993. P. 481.)
As a result of this military conflict, Great Britain retained the Falkland Islands, and the defeat of Argentina led to the fall of the military regime of General Galtieri and the rise of a civilian government in 1983. The new government of Argentina has begun a series of consultations. In October 1989, consular relations were restored between England and Argentina, and since February 1990, diplomatic relations were restored in full.
